


sentimental boy as my nom de plume

by horreurs



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, dorks in denial, these boys are IDIOTS and i LOVE them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-29 22:52:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18303428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/horreurs/pseuds/horreurs
Summary: the problem with eren was that he never knew when to shut his mouth. he always had to have the last word.





	sentimental boy as my nom de plume

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ziamlives](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ziamlives/gifts).



> this fic was a request! i'm always happy to write about these gremlins, how could i possibly refuse the offer to write about them being all sappy and in denial? as always, you can chat to me on twitter about these losers @horreurs! ily soph, i hope you enjoy these disasters.

“Could you turn that shit down?”

Frowning, Eren paused the upbeat echoes of Fall Out Boy to fix Jean with a look of utter disgust.

“What did you call it?”

Shooting an equally as disgusted stare back, Jean simply shrugged.

Their friendship had only recently blossomed. For the longest time they had been at one another’s throats almost religiously. Their shared friendship group could never have a peaceful day whenever Eren and Jean were kept in close proximity for an extended period of time. Reiner still had the scar on his left bicep from where Eren had attempted to claw his way out of the blonde’s hold to give Jean a swift right hook for snorting too loudly. Over the summer, thanks to Connie and Sasha’s impromptu beach days, Eren and Jean had been forced to spend time together. At first, it was a disaster. There would be constant sand throwing, drowning attempts and inappropriate sunscreen doodles. It wasn’t until Eren had finally decided to try and tan that a strange feeling of relaxation seemed to wash over them both. Unsurprisingly, the two found they shared a number of interests despite their past incidents. Since then, they’d found themselves spending more and more time together. Carla even knew Jean by name.

“I’m trying to focus, Eren. All I can hear is your shitty tinny headphones.”

Pulling a face, Eren heaved a sigh before sitting forward to chuck the pillow he’d been leaning on in Jean’s general direction, a childish snort escaping him as it came into contact with the back of Jean’s head with surprising force, prompting a muttered expletive from the other.

“Jaeger, I’m serious. This work’s gotta be in by next Monday.”

“Shouldn’t have left it ‘til the last minute then, shithead.”

Whilst Eren did indeed have a point, Jean wasn’t going to admit that. It was also highly hypocritical of him to criticise Jean’s mistakes, seeing as Eren was the poster child for procrastination and sleepless nights as he rushed through essay after essay. How he even got into university in the first place was beyond Jean.

“Don’t you have an essay due?”

“Nuh uh,” Eren beamed proudly, puffing his chest out with a wink. “Armin helped me finish it off yesterday.”

“Pretty sure that’s cheating.”

Scoffing, Eren wriggled off of his bed to crawl over to Jean’s spot on the floor before peering curiously over his shoulder to see exactly what he’d been furiously sketching for the past hour. He’d never seen the point in an art degree. He was too much of a doer than a thinker. Sure, pretty pictures were nice to look at and all but why not do something? Scrunching his face up with a huff, Eren leaned closer to rest his chin on Jean’s shoulder before sighing loudly, causing Jean to scowl in response.

“Don’t breathe all over me. I don’t want to get infected with idiot.”

“Too late, Kirschtein. I caught it from you in the first place.”

It wasn’t unusual for their banter to turn more into personal attack rather than playful teasing. Jean knew this. But it didn’t stop the irritation that sparked within him whenever Eren’s voice was peppered with arrogance. Gently placing his sketchbook and pencil aside, Jean took a deep breath before reaching up to grab a fistful of Eren’s hair to yank his head away.

“Don’t push your luck.”

Wincing at the sharp pain, Eren’s lip curled in anger. He wasn’t a loser. No matter what challenge he was faced with, he would win. He’d never even lost a round of truth or dare. Not even when Reiner had dared him to eat from the trash. The food poisoning that followed for days after was worth the looks on everyone’s faces as he secured yet another victory. This time was no different.

Curling his hand into a fist, Eren swung at Jean’s ribs. The yelp of shock that escaped him was all the encouragement Eren needed. The grip on his hair loosened momentarily and Eren took advantage immediately. Moving faster than he thought he could, he reached for Jean’s wrists and pinned them to his back, grinning triumphantly as he moved to straddle Jean’s waist.

“I‘m not pushing shit. You’re just pissy ‘cause you can’t draw.”

Jean’s eyes flashed with deep irritation, bringing his knee up sharply to Eren’s spine. Thankfully, it had the desired effect, or so Jean had thought. Eren lost his balance within seconds, falling gracelessly into Jean, his chest smothering Jean’s face and causing his head to fall back against the floor with an ugly thud. Both groaned at different pains as Eren pulled his hands out from under Jean’s back.

“You’re so fucking boney,” Eren grumbled as he inspected his wrists. “It‘s like pinning a skeleton.”

“Eren. Get off my chest.”

Resignedly, Eren crawled off of him with a huff. Technically, he’d won.

“You’re such a sore loser, dude.”

Turning his head to shoot a glare at Eren, Jean didn’t bother saying a word. He knew his gaze said more than enough. The problem with Eren was that he never knew when to shut his mouth. He always had to have the last word or, for some unknown reason, add useless information into a conversation. The time he’d told Jean that his favourite piece of cinema was Cars still haunted Jean to this very day.

“Didn’t lose. You were being childish for no reason.”

Unable to help himself, Eren moved on impulse to ruffle Jean’s hair with a condescending smile. His job was never complete until Jean was blue in the face with pure anger. Nothing fueled him like the annoyance of his best enemy.

“Eren! Cut it out! I styled it!”

“Mikasa’s not here! Who cares? It looked weird anyway.”

The mention of his not so subtle crush caused Jean’s cheeks to flush, embarrassment snaking up his spine. It was bad enough knowing that he’d never have a chance with Mikasa, primarily because she had been in a relationship with Annie since last summer and secondly because then he’d be a step closer to being Eren’s brother-in-law. Nothing was more terrifying than that.

“It wasn’t for her!”

Eren’s grin faltered for a moment, brows knitting together in a vague frown. Had he heard Jean right? The silence that hung between them both for longer of them would like to admit. Panicking, Jean fixed the moment with the only way he could.

“It was for your mom, obviously.”

An ugly snort escaped Eren within seconds, his usual demeanour returning within moments. There was a small part of him that was disappointed. He wouldn’t have minded if Jean had styled his hair for _him_. It’d be kinda sweet, actually. To know that Jean Kirschtein of all people had spent extra time preening and perfecting just for him. Not that Jean really needed to put the effort in, not when Eren really looked at him. His eyelashes were frustratingly long and managed to compliment his sloping, angular features perfectly. When the lighting was just right, the sun would seem to reflect on the light brown of Jean’s eyes, painting them a mesmirising shade that Eren wished he could describe. Even the way his hair seemed to fall naturally was handsome. He didn’t have to do a single thing to make himself look good, he just exuded elegance and style. The only thing that told Eren he wasn’t a complete asshole on sight was the faint glimmer of the silver of Jean’s nose ring. It was a small sign that even a guy that seemed as pompous as Jean had a semi-interesting streak in him.

“That’s nasty, Kirschtein. The divorce isn’t even finalised yet.”

Arching an eyebrow, Jean’s lips curled into a playful smirk.

“I’m totally gonna cuck your dad, Eren.”

Recoiling at the mere mention of his father, Eren couldn’t help but laugh. Jean knew better than anyone that Grisha was, without a doubt, Eren’s least favourite person on the planet. Eren had spent more than enough time rambling about how useless the guy was whenever they had a moment alone.

“Don’t even think about it. I think I’d actually kill you.”

“Y’know,” Jean tilted his head up to stare into Eren’s eyes with an easy smile. “I don’t think I’d blame you.”

A breathy laugh was the only response Eren could give him. It felt as if all the air had been knocked out of his lungs upon meeting Jean’s gaze. His smile was reflected in his eyes, the corners of his eyes crinkling as his smile widened at Eren’s obvious loss for words. Silently, his fingers found their way back into Jean’s hair, stroking the strands back as gently as he possibly could. They basked in one another’s company for a moment, enjoying the mutual feeling of utter content despite their brawl only moments before.

“Hey,” Eren forced himself to speak, withdrawing his hand to tuck it into the pocket of his beaten up hoodie that had most definitely seen better days. “I‘m gonna head up to the roof for a smoke. You comin’?”

Jean couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he sat up, cracking his knuckles as he glanced back at Eren.

“Why do you always go up to the roof?”

“Mom doesn’t know I smoke. Kinda wanna keep it that way.”

“Okay, okay. After you, spider monkey.”

Eren needed no further encouragement. Pushing himself up off of the floor, he shoved on the nearest pair of shoes he could find before grabbing his cigarette packet from under his bed.

“You can have one of mine. As a sorry for bruising your wrists an’ all.”

Shrugging on his cardigan, Jean gave a noncommittal hum as he watched Eren wrestle with the window, clambering out of it with all the grace of a newborn giraffe. Eren wasn’t the tallest but he made up for it with a surprising amount of muscle.

As they both settled on the least dangerous spot (something Jean didn’t totally believe existed), Jean hated to admit that he was surprised by how nice the view was. From here, Shiganshina looked almost pretty, the deep orange glow of the sunset painting a feeling of comfort across the town. The familiar click of Eren’s lighter pulled Jean out of his thoughts and back to reality as his nimble fingers plucked a cigarette from the packet Eren had tossed his way. Holding his palm out expectantly, Jean waited patiently for the lighter. There was something eerily domestic about this moment. Listening to Eren exhale, Jean smiled softly to himself. Seeing Eren sat still for once was remarkable. Usually, he’d be bouncing off the walls or flailing his limbs around to his shitty pop punk playlist in the kitchen. Scanning his gaze over the human mess in question, Jean tried to ignore the way his chest tightened. Eren’s hair was mussed from the gentle breeze, lips pouted as his cigarette rested between them. The sliver of skin on show from Eren’s ripped jeans didn’t help Jean’s erratic heartbeat.

He often mocked Eren’s taste (or lack thereof) in fashion. His wardrobe was filled to the brim with band t-shirts, plaid shirts and snapbacks, the complete opposite to Jean’s proud collection of patterned dress shirts and designer pieces.

“View’s nice, huh?”

“Mm. Beats looking at your face.”

Chuckling, Jean leaned across to wrap an arm loosely around Eren’s shoulder.

“You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that?”

Eren sleepily hummed in agreement as he allowed himself to be pulled closer. The warm summer air mixing with Jean’s own heat. Slumping his head against Jean’s shoulder, Eren moved to press a kiss to Jean’s neck experimentally. When he was met with no disgust or apprehension, he left a few more before Jean clicked his tongue.

“Hey, Jaeger. Look up a sec.”

Sitting up a little straighter, Eren ashed his cigarette before looking at Jean curiously.

“Yeah?”

Wordlessly, Jean pressed a tender kiss to Eren’s forehead, the hand slumped over his shoulder moving to rub his thumb against Eren’s neck in small circular motions.

“Guess you’re not half bad to be around.”

They stayed entwined for the rest of their time on the roof, silently enjoying the comfort of having each other’s company. None of the group needed to know about this. They had a brand to upkeep, after all. They definitely didn’t need to know about the way Jean climbed into Eren’s bed a few hours later, holding the other closely to his chest as he listened to Eren’s breathing even out. The way his heart fluttered as realisation dawned upon him was a moment he’d be taking with him to the grave. Frustratingly, he knew that Eren was all that he could ever want in a partner. Even with his loudmouthed, impulsive tendencies, Jean couldn’t help with fall in love with a soul as beautiful as his.

Even, as he found out the next morning, with Eren drooling in his sleep.


End file.
